Smartphones should be banned from classrooms, says UN report

New York

A United Nations report has recommended that smartphones should be banned from classrooms in order to tackle classroom disruptions, improve the learning experience and protect children from cyberbullying.

United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has said in its report that excessive use of mobile phones affected educational performance and prolonged screentime had an effect on children's emotional stability.

In its report, UNESCO said that digital technology, including artificial intelligence, should have a “human-centred vision” of education and that it should never completely replace face-to-face interaction with teachers.

The agency has also said that policymakers should not embrace digital technology without thought because the positive impact of tech on learning outcomes can be sometimes overstated and that new was not always better.

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“Not all change constitutes progress. Just because something can be done does not mean it should be done,” said the report.

“The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but, just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education,” said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's Director General as quoted by The Guardian.

“Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the wellbeing of students and teachers, not to their detriment. Keep the needs of the learner first and support teachers. Online connections are no substitute for human interaction,” she added.

The report said that countries in the world need to ensure that clear objectives and principles were in place to ensure digital tech was proving to be beneficial and avoided harm to students and in turn democracy and human rights through invasion of privacy and online hatred.

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The report also said that excessive use of technology in classrooms and then at home may prove to be distracting and even disruptive. This can, in turn, have a negative impact on learning, said the report. In its report, UNESCO cited large-scale international assessment data which indicated a "negative link" between the excessive use of digital tech and the performance of students.

Not everyone is happy with UNESCO's suggestion though.

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told Guardian, “The majority of schools will already have robust policies about mobile phones in place. In most cases, pupils will either be prohibited entirely from using them during the school day or restricted to only using them in certain circumstances."

“Banning mobile phones entirely from school premises would raise some practical concerns, for example for parents wanting to contact their children while travelling between school and home. Some pupils will also use phones as payment methods on public transport.”

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